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Food and Class

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Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics
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Synonyms

Luxury foods; Poor-people’s foods

Introduction

The act of eating, while simply defined as the consumption of food, has many social and cultural factors tied to it. These factors include how societies define what is edible or not and by whom, how and when to eat, and how the foods are acquired, among other things. Therefore, while eating is an everyday action necessary for survival, it requires a multidisciplinary approach for its understanding. This entry explores the relationship between food, eating, and class. Social class refers to the hierarchical organization of individuals in a particular society. It may refer to a caste system based on family social standing, but most commonly, nowadays, class is determined by the amount of wealth and income one possesses.

The topic at hand can be tied to different social dimensions depending on the context it is being addressed. Following the emphasis of this encyclopedia, the entry will focus on developed or resource-rich countries....

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Correspondence to Melissa Fuster .

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© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Fuster, M. (2013). Food and Class. In: Thompson, P., Kaplan, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6167-4_180-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6167-4_180-1

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